Cardboard tank packaging

ABSTRACT

A tank pack comprising a box-shaped body with a bottom and defining a housing, made from cardboard, and a sack made from plastic for containing liquids, purees or similar products suitable for being housed in the housing is described. The sack is provided with at least one outlet valve and one inlet valve. The outlet valve is connected to a cardboard support base of the sack that comprises a base sheet suitable for being arranged laying over the bottom. A front wall of the body is provided with an opening to externally expose the outlet valve. The support also comprises a front sheet foldably connected to the base sheet. Anchoring means are provided for the outlet valve and suitable for internally laying over the front wall of the body. A manipulation and fastening flap is foldably connected to the front sheet so as to be accessible near or at the upper end of the body.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Italian Patent ApplicationNo. FI2009A000098, filed on May 11, 2009, which is incorporated hereinin its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure concerns the field of the production ofcontainers made from paper-based material, and more specifically itconcerns a new tank packaging intended for storing and transportingliquid or viscous materials in the field of agri-foodstuffs andchemicals, such as in particular, but not exclusively, preserves, mashedsubstances etc.

BACKGROUND

Cardboard tank packagings are known and highly appreciated due to theirbiodegradability and ease of recycling. The parallelepiped shape allowsthe transportation and storage logistics to be optimized. The packagingcomprises an outer body made from cardboard of suitable strength, whichhouses a collapsible sack made from plastic intended for containingliquids. The sack is supported by a cardboard base that is inserted intothe outer body for internally superimposing the bottom of the body. Thebase and the sack are fixedly connected to one another by an outletvalve for the outlet of the liquid from the sack. Said valve, whenarranging the sack with the relative base inside the body, has to beplaced in correspondence with a preformed opening on a side wall of thebody, near to the bottom. In addition to the outlet valve, the sackincludes a filling valve, in an opposite position to the outlet valve.

Such known packagings have two main types of drawbacks. Firstly, thearrangement of the sack with its support base in the body is verydifficult and troublesome, in particular as far as the control of thecorrect positioning of the valve is concerned, working from outside ofthe body. Regarding this, it is worth remembering that the body has veryhigh side walls, for which reason the arms of a worker cannot reach thearea of the bottom inside the body, and they are also hindered by thepresence of the sack. Secondly, when the sack is progressively emptiedof its content, and consequently collapses in the body, the folds formpockets that trap the material, preventing complete emptying unless apart of the sack is lifted manually, inserting the arm inside the body,with the difficulties already mentioned for the operator.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, a new tank packaging that, thanksto original constructive features, is easier to assemble and moreuser-friendly and safe in use than analogous known packagings.

According to a first aspect, a tank-like packaging comprising abox-shaped body made of cardboard with a bottom and defining a housing,and a sack made of plastic material is provided, the sack being adaptedto be housed in said housing and comprising at least one outlet valveand at least one inlet valve, said outlet valve being connected to asack support, made of cardboard and comprising a base sheet adapted tobe arranged laying over said bottom of said body, wherein a front wallof said body comprises an opening for externally exposing said outletvalve, wherein said sack support further comprises: a front sheetfoldably connected to said base sheet, comprising anchoring means forsaid outlet valve and adapted to internally superimpose said front wallof said body; and a manipulation and fastening flap foldably connectedto said front sheet to be accessible near or at the upper end of saidbody.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be given as examples and notfor limiting purposes, with reference to the attached drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 schematically represents a perspective view of a cardboardpackaging according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of an inner sack and the relative cardboardsupport in the packaging of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlargement in the area of the outlet valve of the assemblyof FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6 show respective successive and final steps of thestabilisation procedure of the assembly of the previous figures to therest of the pack, through perspective views of the upper area of thelatter;

FIGS. 7 to 9 are respective cardboard flat blanks of differentembodiments of the support of the sack according to the invention, cutedges being represented with a continuous line, while discontinuouslines represent folding lines, the blank of FIG. 7 substantiallycorresponding to the support in the embodiment according to the previousfigures; and

FIG. 10 is a flat blank of a further, different embodiment of thesupport of the sack according to the invention, intended for aprism-shaped pack with an octagonal base.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, a packaging according to an embodimentof the disclosure comprises a box-shaped body 1 made from corrugatedcardboard, in the illustrated embodiment having a parallelepiped shape,substantially cubic, formed according to the usual techniques of thefield. On a front wall 1 a, near to the bottom 1 d, an opening 2 isformed for the insertion and exposure to the outside of an outlet valveVu which shall be discussed in greater detail later on.

From the upper edges of the side walls of the body 1 respective upperflaps foldably extend, and more specifically: a front flap 3 a, at thefront wall 1 a, two side flaps 3 b at respective side walls 1 b adjacentto the front wall 1 a, and a rear flap 3 c at a rear wall 1 c paralleland opposite to the front wall la. The upper flaps have key engagementmeans formed on them, suitable for ensuring that they are engaged withone another to obtain a partial top closure of the body 1. Suchengagement means comprise, in particular, arrow-shaped tabs 4 on thefree margins of the front and rear flaps 3 a, 3 c, suitable for beinginserted in slits 5 that extend on the side flaps 3 b, according to aconstruction technique that is commonly used in the field.

In the housing 6 internally defined by the body 1, one or more (two inthe illustrated example) tubular sleeve structures 7, 8 for stiffeningand strengthening the side walls are preferably inserted. In practice,these are strips folded into a sleeve shape so as to define, in turn,side walls that internally line the walls 1 a-1 c of the body 1,thickening them. On the front walls 7 a, 8 a that lay on the front wall1 a respective openings 7 b, 8 b are formed, corresponding to theopening 2 for the outlet valve Vu.

The body 1 also comprises a cover 9, formed according to conventionaltechniques, to shut the housing 6 on top. This housing 6 houses a sack S(FIG. 2), made from plastic such as a transparent food contact PE filmof suitable strength, connected to a support made from corrugatedcardboard 10.

The support 10 consists of a strip on which parallel and consecutivetransverse folding lines 11 define (reference is made in particular toFIG. 7): a base sheet 12, suitable for internally superimposing thebottom of the body 1 and sized to this purpose; a front sheet 13 adaptedto internally lay on the front wall 1 a (and relative stiffening walls 7a, 8 a); and a fastening flap 14 adapted to be arranged substantiallyflush with the upper edge of the body 1.

In greater detail, the base shape 12 is the actual lower support of thesack 9, whereas the front sheet 13, in a suitable position near to thefold with the base sheet 12 (defined by two adjacent side-by-sidelines), houses a fitting 15 for anchoring the valve Vu. The valve, withcharacteristics that can vary according to the prior art, is, in anycase, represented by a rigid tubular element. In the depicted examplethe fitting (not represented in FIG. 1) is formed from a hole with aperiphery having deformable radial tongues 15 a, which allow for theinsertion of the valve and hold it exerting a certain elastic clamping.As described shortly hereafter, the fitting can take up differentconfigurations, according to the type of valve and, however, inaccordance with what is already known as such.

Also the fastening flap 14 has a pre-cut fitting 17, in this caseintended to hold an inlet (filling) valve Vi of the sack 9, in turnconsisting of a rigid tubular element. Also in this case the fitting cantake up different shapes, for example that of a seating shut by afoldable tongue that, by lifting, opens the seat itself to a lesser orgreater extent, also acting as a holding element. The fitting 17 canalso, like in the example here considered, be housed by an inner portion14 a of the flap 14, adapted to be articulated along one of the foldinglines 11 with respect to an end portion 14 b, all of this also in viewof the positioning of the inlet valve in a stocking configuration thatwill be discussed shortly hereafter.

The fastening flap, in addition to grip windows 16, comprises a foldabletongue 18, with contoured ends, projecting from the free edge of theflap, free edge which corresponds to one of the transversal sides of thestrip that realizes the support 10. The tongue 18 is suitable for layingover the front top flap 3 a of the body 1, to engage with a slot 21formed therein, and finally with a further, corresponding slot 19 in thesame fastening flap 14. The front top flap 3 a of the body 1 is alsoequipped with a passage 20 to give access to the inlet valve 18.

In use, the arrangement of the sack S in the housing 6 of the body 1 canbe controlled by a worker precisely by operating from the outside on thefastening flap 14 through the grip windows 16, which act as handles,whereas the front sheet 13 constitutes an element for transmitting thedisplacement to the base sheet 12. Therefore, there is a realmanoeuvrability of the support, which can be arranged with precision,effortlessly and above all without needing to insert the arms in thehousing 6. The same capabilities also make it easy to extract thesack/support assembly, when required.

A further characteristic deriving from the special structure of thesupport 10 consists in the possibility of anchoring the inlet valve Viat the top, which, besides making the filling operations of the sack Seasier, has the effect of supporting the latter as is emptied,preventing it from completely collapsing, counteracting the formation offolds and pockets that trap the liquid contained, and thereforepromoting regular flow up to the end. If necessary, such a flow can alsobe further assisted by lifting the side of the base sheet 12 oppositethe front sheet 13, so as to make the former close in rotation towardsthe latter and thus obtain a sort of squeezing of the sack. To thispurpose, as represented in FIG. 2, a string F, to be gripped from theoutside of the packaging, can be linked to a slot 25 formed in asuitable position in the base sheet 12.

It should also be noted that the assembly of the support 10 and the sackS, once extracted and separated from the body 1, can be folded neatly soas to occupy a very small space in a stocking arrangement. Indeed,thanks to folding lines (or creases) arranged in pairs, like in theexample, it is possible to fold the two base and front sheets 12, 13like a book, leaving in between the volume necessary to contain andclamp the encumber of the empty sack S and the valve Vi. The closure ofthe assembly can be ensured by the same tongue 18 that will engage withthe aforementioned slot 25.

With reference now also to FIGS. 8 and 9, numerous variants can beproposed in the configuration of the strip-like sheet that constitutesthe cardboard support of the sack S. Firstly, in the embodiment of FIG.8 it can be seen that the fastening flap can be more elongated, until itdegenerates into an actual covering sheet 114 that shuts the entireopening gap, or open top, of the housing 6 of the body 1 and protectsthe sack S on top. The manipulation and fastening sheet 114 has twopairs of gripping windows 116, and at the end of the strip a foldableedge 123 to stabilize the sheet itself, being tucked in between thereinforcement sleeves 7, 8 and the rear wall 1 c of the body 1.

Moreover, an inspection door 124 is foldably articulated at the centerof the manipulation and fastening sheet 114. The foldable fasteningtongue 118 in this case is actually formed by subtracting material fromthe door, at the opposite side to that of articulation. Furthermore, alocking tang 122 is arranged at the end of the base sheet 112, to act asa locking element of the assembly in the aforementioned stockingconfiguration folded like a book, engaging with the slot 119 that, whenthe support is assembled with the body 1, receives the tongue 118.Finally, it should be noted that an engagement fitting 115 of the outletvalve is shaped in this case more simply according to a polygonaloutline, as in a different known standard.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the fastening, manipulation and shuttingsheet 214 has in turn an inspection door 224, of a smaller size than inthe previous case, and there can be noticed engagement fittings 215, 217for the discharge and inlet (filling) valves, respectively, shaped againdifferently with respect to the previous examples, for both of thevalves. In particular, in this case, and according to a furtherstandard, known as such, there will be tongues 215 a, 217 a with anisosceles trapezoidal profile, incident to the periphery of a circularhole 215 b, 217 b and adapted to be lifted to make such a perimeterbreakable upon the act of insertion of the relative valve. Thestabilization of the sheet via the edge 223 on the rear side can makethe presence of an engagement tongue superfluous; in fact, the tongue isindeed absent in this embodiment. Nevertheless, it is possible to seethe slot 219 that in this case will only be used to engage with thelocking tang 222 in the stocking arrangement.

Between the two solutions indicated above (covering sheet limited to aflap, or else a complete one shutting the entire open top of the housing6), there can also be intermediate solutions, i.e. with a fastening,manipulation and covering sheet that partially shuts the open top of thehousing, and carrying the engagement fitting of the upper valve cut onthe relative free edge or transversal side. The latter edge can alsoprovide for foldable keys that engage with slots of the bottom sheet,also in this case to the purpose of keeping the sheets clamped togetherin the stocking arrangement, again made possible by the folds/creases inadjacent pairs that, suitably spaced, ensure that there can be aproperly compact boxing of the sack.

In all cases, the strip that makes the support 10 can also comprise,along the longitudinal sides, i.e. those that extend along the directionof development of the strip, but also along the transversal sideopposite the fastening one, some tabs that can be folded towards theinside of the housing to consolidate the pack at the corners andincrease the stability of the assembly, at the same time realizing sidesupports that make the inside of the corners more regular, avoiding theformation of gaps that could even cut the sack. An example of this isprovided by the same FIG. 8, in which it is possible to see tabs 126along the longitudinal sides of all three sheets. Furthermore, it isclear that the handles 16, 116, 216 can be positioned and configureddifferently, and that both the base sheet and the front sheet can havelow surface extension in width through shaping or profiling of variouskinds.

Furthermore, FIG. 10 highlights the possibility of using embodiments ofthe present disclosure also with packagings of a different shape than aparallelepiped, for example prisms with a hexagonal, octagonal orpolygonal base and in general of any other profile. The flat blankrepresented in such a figure is entirely comparable to the exampledescribed earlier, with obvious adaptations to the profile of the basesheet 312 and fastening and manipulation sheet 314 (octagonal in thiscase). Otherwise, the components correspond to those of the previousexamples, as made clear by the congruence between the various referencenumerals.

The body 1, and consequently the support structure 10 with the sack S,can of course be made according to various sizes, again resulting in anecological but very strong pack. The assembly as described is made up ofmodules that are fitted together extremely easily. The support 10 isintroduced from the outside without the need to manoeuvre the othercomponents and acts also as a container of the sack. Along with thepossibility of locking also the filling valve, it is even possible,contrary to known packagings, to use standard filling units that canwork on the valve exposed and stabilized at the top. Thanks to thelocking system of the upper flaps of the body 1, the side walls stayfirmly and precisely upright, even after the sack has been filled.

The possibility of folding every component (even the body 1 that will,as mentioned, be made from a flat blank according to conventionalmethods), ensures that the packaging, in unassembled condition, occupiessmall spaces, with enormous advantages compared to conventional tanks.All of the components can be recovered and/or replaced when they havedeteriorated. The use of cardboard, in addition to the obviousadvantages over materials like plastic, iron and wood, also allowspersonalised prints to be applied, making a great advertising poweravailable. Finally, the high thickness of the side walls constitute aneffective insulating barrier that protects the product contained fromthermal excursions, both during the summer and in extreme coldconditions.

All of the engagement systems with arrow-like keys can be replaced byanalogous solutions appearing equivalent to a man skilled in the art. Atleast some of the cutting lines of the flat blank to which reference wasmade in the description can initially be formed as pre-cut lines, to betorn at the time of forming the packaging.

The assembly of support 10 and sack S with the special features heredescribed and claimed is obviously to be considered within the scope ofthe present invention also when considered alone, that is apart andisolated from the body 1.

The present invention has been here described with reference topreferred embodiments. It should be understood that there may be otherembodiments within the same inventive concept, as defined by the scopeof protection of the following claims.

1. A tank-like packaging comprising a box-shaped body made of cardboardwith a bottom and defining a housing, and a sack made of plasticmaterial, the sack being adapted to be housed in said housing andcomprising at least one outlet valve and at least one inlet valve, saidoutlet valve being connected to a sack support, made of cardboard andcomprising a base sheet adapted to be arranged laying over said bottomof said body, wherein a front wall of said body comprises an opening forexternally exposing said outlet valve, wherein said sack support furthercomprises: a front sheet foldably connected to said base sheet,comprising anchoring means for said outlet valve and adapted tointernally superimpose said front wall of said body; and a manipulationand fastening flap foldably connected to said front sheet to beaccessible near or at the upper end of said body.
 2. The packagingaccording to claim 1, wherein said manipulation and fastening flapcomprises fastening means for fastening the support to the body and gripmeans adapted to allow the grip by the hands of a worker.
 3. Thepackaging according to claim 1, wherein said manipulation and fasteningflap comprises anchoring means for said inlet valve.
 4. The packagingaccording to claim 1, wherein said manipulation and fastening flap actsas a covering sheet adapted to shut substantially entirely the top ofsaid housing, said covering sheet being arranged substantially parallelto said bottom above said sack.
 5. The packaging according to claim 4,wherein at least one inspection door is formed in said covering sheet.6. The packaging according to claim 1, wherein said grip means compriseone or more windows for insertion of hands of a worker.
 7. The packagingaccording to claim 1, wherein said anchoring means for said outlet valveand/or said inlet valve comprise shaped patterns including holes, cut orpre-cut lines on respective sheets or flaps.
 8. The packaging accordingto claim 1, wherein said fastening means comprise a tongue foldablyprojecting from said manipulation and fastening sheet or flap andadapted to engage with engagement means formed in a top front flapfoldably extending from said front wall of said body and with engagementmeans formed in said manipulation and fastening sheet or flap.
 9. Thepackaging according to claim 1, wherein said fastening means comprise afoldable edge adapted to be engaged with a rear wall opposite said frontwall of said body.
 10. The packaging according to claim 1, furthercomprising at least one stiffening sleeve, made of cardboard, adapted tobe inserted within said housing for increasing stiffness of the sidewalls.
 11. The packaging according to claim 10, wherein said foldableedge is tucked between said rear wall and said at least one stiffeningsleeve.
 12. The packaging according to claim 1, wherein from at leastone among said base sheet, said front sheet and said manipulation andfastening sheet or flap, foldable flaps extend towards the inside ofsaid housing, for strengthening the packaging at the corners andincreasing stability.
 13. The packaging according to claim 8, whereinsaid body comprises, in addition to said top front flap, other top flapsfoldably extending from respective other side walls of the body, whereinkey engagement means are provided for carrying out a mutual engagementbetween said top flaps to form a partial covering of the top of saidhousing.
 14. The packaging according to claim 1, wherein said basesheet, said front sheet and said manipulation and fastening sheet orflap are mutually separated by twin folding or creasing lines, adaptedto permit a book-like folding of the sheets, in a stocking arrangementwhen the sack is empty, defining a volume suitable to contain the samesack and the relative outlet valve, the packaging further comprisinglocking means for stabilizing said stocking arrangement, said lockingmeans being arranged between said manipulation and fastening sheet orflap and said base sheet.
 15. The packaging according to claim 14,wherein said locking means comprise said fastening tongue cooperatingwith a slot formed in said base sheet.
 16. The packaging according toclaim 14, wherein said locking means comprise at least one tang formedin said base sheet cooperating with a slot of said manipulation andfastening flap.
 17. The packaging according to claim 1, wherein tyingmeans formed on said base sheet further comprising for allowingstring-like means to be connected, said string-like means being adaptedto be gripped from outside the packaging for assisting rotation of thesame base sheet towards said front sheet, to squeeze said sack.
 18. Anassembly comprising a sack made of plastic materials for containingliquids or the like and a cardboard support realized and adapted be usedin the packaging according to claim 1.